Thank you. Good luck with you new (old) camera.

Thank you. Good luck with your filmmaking.

Yeah, the "vertical pulling" you mention sounds right. The film should not be pulled through the film gate by the moving reels. It should gently roll through as the film gate claws move it one frame at a time. Otherwise, the turning reels will try to pull it without regard to the sprocket teeth. Depending on how well you loaded it, you may have half the film just fine, with the other have having the pull marks. Or, you may have mis-loaded both halves. Try again and make sure each half of the roll is smoothly flowing. Don't worry about wasting a few feet of film. At 16 fps, each foot is only five seconds of film.

@@minimumexpectationsdiy6013 wow thanks! I really appreciate the thorough advice. I’m definitely going to give it another go. I really love this model. It’s so sleek and easy to hold.

Gee, thanks. I'm almost blushing with pride that someone found my video useful. I appreciate your comments and your interest in the subject. Best wishes to you and good luck in your filming endeavors. JHS

@@minimumexpectationsdiy6013 I'm just gracious in finding someone who understands mechanics and is willing to spend a few moments in explaining just how they work. Too many of these folks couldn't even take a picture if the technological marvel they held didn't practically make all the settings for them. Lord help them with composition issues. Your awesome for efforts spent my friend. My model 20 is an eyesore, but dang it still works, where many of those 80 and 90's handicaps lie dead or dying. Have a Very Happy Holiday Season. Thank You!

@@murraykriner9425 I believe somapan still makes double 8mm film which fits in this camera, I just bought one myself and after digging through half the internet I found somapan. I haven’t tried it yet but you could take a look at them too.

@@jancurfs3067 I would be very pleased to experiment with a variety of different film stocks, and the variances in chemistry to see the end results. Always wished that shops would make a potpourri pack of films for sampling, but suspicion that might diminish sales to some degree. I'll give your suggestion a drag through the double-eight gates in hopes of satisfactory results. Thank you for your having shared the information.

I'm glad you found my video useful. As for buying film, you need to search for regular or double-eight film, not super-8 or single 8. You may want to start with this link: filmphotographyproject.com/content/howto/2019/05/skinny-regular-8mm-home-movie-film/ Be sure to purchase processing when you buy. Best wishes. James

@@minimumexpectationsdiy6013 thank you so much I really appreciate the help! ☺️

You can load the film in a dimly lighted room and easily see what you're doing. If you need to unwind a few feet of film (as in my video) it's OK-you'll lose only a few seconds of film. I've loaded lots of film on bright sunny days by standing in the shade of a tree or building or whatever.

Difficult to diagnose from afar, but I'll give it a try. First, you should not need much force to open this camera. I usually use my thumb and maybe my thumbnail to slide the button to the open position. This camera should be easy to open. In fact, the door (side) should almost fall away when the lock is released. If it's stuck with gunk or rust, you should use some penetrating oil like Liquid Wrench and a Q-tip to apply it. on the camera. That's why you use the Q-tip. Make sure the oil can work its way the button. Wait about 20 minutes and see if it moves. If not, repeat a few times and try to move the button back and forth (open and closed). Other things to try. Use a small wooden dowel and a small hammer to tap the button toward the "open" position. but at a low angle in the direction the button must move. You need to verify that the door (side of camera) is properly seated on the camera body and not misaligned. If the button finally slides and the door (side) still won't open, then you may need to use a thin-blade screwdriver to gently pry it open. When you get it open, please post a photo of the inside, especially if you can see the cause of the problem-dirt, rust, damage, or something else. Good luck and best wishes. James